Commitments and Action Agenda Released at 2012 Clean Energy Ministerial

The third meeting of the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) took place in London on April 25-26 and concluded with a number of commitments made by the 23 CEM participants, along with leaders from the private sector and civil society. In addition, the Secretary-General’s High-level Group on Sustainable Energy for All released an Action Agenda to accelerate progress toward the three objectives of the Secretary-General’s initiative.

Ensuring Sustainable Energy for All

The announcements followed the third meeting of the Clean Energy Ministerial, a high-level intergovernmental forum that seeks to accelerate the transition to clean energy technologies, bringing together governments that collectively account for 90 percent of global clean energy investment.

Commitments made at the Clean Energy Ministerial include:

• Sixteen CEM governments participating in the Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) initiative made important commitments to advance energy efficiency by helping consumers and businesses access energy-saving appliances and equipment.
• CEM governments announced major efforts to advance renewable energy and other low-carbon energy and to catalyze self-sustaining market solutions to quickly address critical energy access needs.
• CEM governments also took action on a series of cross-cutting initiatives, including new support for technical and policy assistance.

The CEM announcements supplement the growing number of commitments being made to contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Energy for All’s objectives. This momentum is expected to continue at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) June 20-22 and beyond, in alignment with the Action Agenda.

Encouraging the Transition to a Global Clean Energy Investment 

Formed in 2009 by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Clean Energy Ministerial is an initiative to promote policies and programs that advance clean energy technology, to share lessons learned and best practices, and to encourage the transition to a global clean energy economy. The 23 nations in the ministerial group produce roughly 80 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases and constitute 90 percent of global clean energy investment. Thus, they are positioned to make significant progress on global climate and energy policy goals to improve energy efficiency, clean energy supply, and clean energy access, which aligns well with the objectives of the Secretary-General’s initiative on Sustainable Energy for All.

For additional information on the commitments made at this year’s Clean Energy Ministerial, see Coalition of World Energy Ministers Commit to Improvements in Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Energy Access